Camera body, camera accessory, and information transmission method

ABSTRACT

A camera body with which it is possible to improve the effect of shake correction, a camera accessory, and an information transmission method wherein the camera body to which a camera accessory can be detachably mounted, and includes: a movable section which is movable to correct shaking of the camera body; a detection unit which detects the shake and outputs a detection signal; a calculation unit which, on the basis of the detection signal, calculates an amount of movement of the movable section; and a transmission unit which transmits, to the camera accessory, body-side information the calculation unit uses to calculate the amount of movement.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a camera body, a camera accessory, andan information transmission method.

BACKGROUND ART

An interchangeable lens including a blurring correction apparatus isknown (see Patent Document 1). However, when the interchangeable lensincluding the blurring correction apparatus is mounted on a camera bodyincluding a blurring correction apparatus, the cooperation of blurringcorrection in the interchangeable lens and blurring correction in thecamera body becomes a problem.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, PublicationNo. H11-38461

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

A camera body according to a first aspect of the present invention is acamera body to which a camera accessory is detachably mounted, thecamera body including: a movable unit that is movable to correctblurring of the camera body; a detection unit that detects the blurringand outputs a detection signal; a calculation unit that calculates amoving distance of the movable unit based on the detection signal; and atransmission unit that transmits, to the camera accessory, body-sideinformation used by the calculation unit to calculate the movingdistance.

A camera accessory according to a second aspect of the present inventionis a camera accessory detachably mounted to a camera body, the cameraaccessory including: a movable unit that is movable to have a componentorthogonal to an optical axis of the camera accessory; a detection unitthat detects blurring of the camera accessory and outputs a detectionsignal; a calculation unit that calculates a moving distance of themovable unit based on the detection signal; and a receiving unit thatreceives body-side information, based on information used by thecalculation unit, to calculate the moving distance, from the camerabody.

An information transmission method according to a third aspect of thepresent invention is a method of transmitting information between acamera accessory detachably mounted to a camera body and the camerabody, the method including: detecting blurring of the camera body andoutputting a detection signal; calculating, based on the detectionsignal, a moving distance of a movable unit that is movable in adirection intersecting an optical axis; and transmitting body-sideinformation to calculate the moving distance between the camera body andthe camera accessory.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating main components of a camerasystem;

FIG. 2 is a timing chart illustrating command data communication andhotline communication;

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a timing of an RDY signal, a CLK signal, aDATAB signal, and a DATAL signal;

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a timing of an HCLK signal and an HDATAsignal;

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating information included in second data 92;

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a calculation of a drive amount of ablurring correction lens 361 b by a lens-side control unit 330;

FIG. 7 is a view showing an operation of a second judgement unit 336;

FIG. 8 is a view showing a relation between a total blurring state forangular blurring, a cutoff frequency fcω, and a first correction rateGω1;

FIG. 9 is a view showing a relation between still-image/moving-imageantivibration, a shutter speed, and a second correction rate;

FIG. 10 is a view showing a relation between still-image/moving-imageantivibration, an antivibration mode, and a cutoff frequency fc_inteω;

FIG. 11 is a view showing a relation between a total blurring state fortranslational blurring, a cutoff frequency fcα, and a first correctionrate Gα1;

FIG. 12 is a view showing a relation between still-image/moving-imageantivibration, an antivibration mode, and a cutoff frequency fc_inteα;

FIG. 13 is a timing chart showing a blurring correction state at thetime of moving image photographing; and

FIG. 14 is a timing chart showing a blurring correction state at thetime of still image photographing.

PREFERRED MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

An embodiment for carrying out the invention will be described belowwith reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating main components of a camerasystem 1. The camera system 1 of the present embodiment is configured inwhich a camera body 2 and an interchangeable lens 3 are detachablymounted. In FIG. 1, an optical axis O of the interchangeable lens 3, andan X-axis direction and a Y-axis direction in a plane intersecting theoptical axis O are indicated by lines, respectively.

<Camera Body>

The camera body 2 includes a body-side control unit 230, a body-sidecommunication unit 240, a power supply unit 250, an imaging sensor 260,a sensor drive unit 265, a signal processing unit 270, an operationmember 280, a blurring sensor 290, and a display unit 285. The body-sidecontrol unit 230 is connected to the body-side communication unit 240,the power supply unit 250, the imaging sensor 260, the sensor drive unit265, the signal processing unit 270, the operation member 280, and theblurring sensor 290.

The body-side communication unit 240 performs predeterminedcommunication with a lens-side communication unit 340 of theinterchangeable lens 3. The body-side communication unit 240 transmits asignal to the body-side control unit 230. The body-side communicationunit 240 includes a body-side first communication section 240 a and abody-side second communication section 240 b. The body-side firstcommunication section 240 a performs command data communication to bedescribed below with the interchangeable lens 3, and the body-sidesecond communication section 240 b performs hotline communication to bedescribed below with the interchangeable lens 3.

The body-side first communication section 240 a is connected to abody-side first control section 230 a to be described below, andinformation transmitted and received between the camera body 2 and theinterchangeable lens 3 in command data communication is output or inputby the body-side first control section 230 a. The body-side secondcommunication section 240 b is connected to the body-side first controlsection 230 a and a body-side second control section 230 b to bedescribed below, and information transmitted from the interchangeablelens 3 to the camera body 2 in hotline communication is transmitted tothe body-side first control section 230 a and the body-side secondcontrol section 230 b.

The power supply unit 250 converts a voltage of a battery (not shown)into voltages used in the respective units of the camera system 1, andsupplies the converted voltages to the respective units of the camerabody 2 and the interchangeable lens 3. The power supply unit 250 canswitch the power supply on and off for each power supply destinationaccording to an instruction of the body-side control unit 230.

The imaging sensor 260 is a solid-state imaging sensor such as a CMOSimaging sensor or a CCD imaging sensor. The imaging sensor 260 capturesan object image of an imaging surface 260S according to a control signalfrom the body-side control unit 230, and then outputs a signal. Theimaging sensor 260 can perform moving image photographing and stillimage photographing. The moving image photographing includes not onlyrecording of moving image but also photographing of a so-called throughimage for continuously displaying an image formation state on thedisplay unit 285.

The signal output from the imaging sensor 260 is used by the signalprocessing unit 270 to generate image data for through image and imagedata for still image photographing. The imaging sensor 260 is connectedto the signal processing unit 270 and the body-side control unit 230.

The signal processing unit 270 performs predetermined image processingon the signal output from the imaging sensor 260 to generate image data.The generated image data is recorded in a storage medium (not shown) ina predetermined file format or used for the display unit 285 to displayan image. The signal processing unit 270 is connected to the body-sidecontrol unit 230, the imaging sensor 260, and the display unit 285.

The blurring sensor 290 detects blurring of the camera body 2 caused byhand. The blurring sensor 290 includes an angular velocity sensor 290 aand an acceleration sensor 290 b. The blurring sensor 290 detectsangular blurring and translational blurring separately for an X-axisdirection component and a Y-axis direction component.

The angular velocity sensor 290 a detects an angular velocity generatedby rotational movement of the camera body 2. The angular velocity sensor290 a individually detects a rotation about an axis parallel to the Xaxis, and a rotation about an axis parallel to the Y axis, for example,and outputs a detection signal for a blurring angular velocity ω1 in theX-axis direction and a detection signal for a blurring angular velocityω2 in the Y-axis direction to the body-side control unit 230.

Further, the acceleration sensor 290 b detects an acceleration generatedby translational movement of the camera body 2. The acceleration sensor290 b individually detects an acceleration in an axial directionparallel to the X axis and an acceleration in an axial directionparallel to the Y axis, for example, and outputs a detection signal fora blurring acceleration α1 in the X-axis direction and a detectionsignal for a blurring acceleration α2 in the Y-axis direction to thebody-side control unit 230.

Each of the angular velocity sensor 290 a and the acceleration sensor290 b can periodically output a detection signal at a cycle shorter thana cycle of the hotline communication.

The body-side control unit 230 includes a microcomputer and peripheralcircuits thereof. The body-side control unit 230 includes a storagesection 235. In the storage section 235, recording and reading of dataare controlled by the body-side control unit 230. The storage section235 stores control programs to be executed by the body-side control unit230. The body-side control unit 230 executes the control programs storedin the storage section 235 to control the respective unit in the camerabody 2.

The body-side control unit 230 includes a body-side first controlsection 230 a and a body-side second control section 230 b. Thebody-side first control section 230 a mainly controls the entire camerabody 2, and the body-side second control section 230 b is connected tothe sensor drive unit 265 and mainly controls a blurring correctionoperation of moving the imaging sensor 260 in a direction intersectingthe optical axis. Since the body-side second control section 230 bmainly controls the blurring correction operation, a control forblurring correction can be quickly performed. The body-side firstcontrol section 230 a transmits an instruction for blurring correction,such as a start of blurring correction and a correction rate (to bedescribed below) to the body-side second control section 230 b. Thebody-side first control section 230 a and the body-side second controlsection 230 b mutually transmit and receive necessary data andinstructions, as appropriate.

The sensor drive unit 265 includes, for example, an actuator, a drivemechanism, and a position detection unit. The sensor drive unit 265moves the imaging sensor 260 in a direction intersecting the opticalaxis O, based on an instruction output from the body-side control unit230. The movement of the imaging sensor 260 in a direction intersectingthe optical axis O can reduce blurring (image blurring) of the objectimage on the imaging surface 260S of the imaging sensor 260. The sensordrive unit 265 uses the position detection unit such as a Hall elementto detect a position of the imaging sensor 260 in the directionintersecting the optical axis O.

The operation member 280 including a release button and an operationswitch is provided on an exterior surface of the camera body 2. A useroperates the operation member 280 to issue a photographing instructionand an instruction for setting photographing conditions. The user caninstruct the operation member 280 to turn ON or OFF a blurringcorrection function and to set an antivibration mode to a sports mode, anormal mode, and a lens-side priority mode, thereby setting blurringcorrection.

The sports mode is a mode suitable for blurring correction to make amovable range smaller and a blurring correction angle smaller than in anormal mode under conditions such as pursuing a fast-moving object,changing the composition frequently, and increasing a shutter speed. Thenormal mode is a mode in which a movable range can increase by beingmatched with a mechanical movable range and a blurring correction effectcan be enhanced.

The lens-side priority mode is a mode in which when an antivibrationmode of the camera body 2 does not match an antivibration mode of theinterchangeable lens 3, the antivibration mode of the camera body 2 ismatched with the antivibration mode set in the interchangeable lens 3.

In the present embodiment, as will be described below, since at least apart of the blurring correction setting can also be set by theinstruction unit 375 of the interchangeable lens 3, the blurringcorrection setting of the camera body 2 may not match the blurringcorrection setting of the interchangeable lens 3. When the blurringcorrection setting of the camera body 2 does not match the blurringcorrection setting of the interchangeable lens 3, a blurring correctioneffect of the interchangeable lens 3 and a blurring correction effect ofthe camera body 2 do not match each other, and a live view image mayappear unnatural.

In the present embodiment, the operation performed by the operationmember 280 is transmitted to the body-side first control section 230 a,and the instruction from the instruction unit 375 is transmitted to thebody-side first control section 230 a in a manner of command datacommunication or hotline communication. Therefore, the body-side firstcontrol section 230 a can recognize the blurring correction settings inthe camera body 2 and the interchangeable lens 3, and the body-sidefirst control section 230 a can transmit an instruction for blurringcorrection setting to the interchangeable lens 3 in a manner of commanddata communication, so that the blurring correction setting of thecamera body 2 can be matched with the blurring correction setting of theinterchangeable lens 3.

The operation member 280 sends an operation signal corresponding to theuser's operation to the body-side control unit 230.

The display unit 285 includes a liquid crystal display panel, forexample. The display unit 285 displays an image based on the image dataprocessed by the signal processing unit 270 and an operation menu screenaccording to an instruction from the body-side control unit 230.Further, photographing conditions may be set by a touch panel operationof the display unit 285, instead of the operation member 280.

<Interchangeable Lens>

The interchangeable lens 3 includes a lens-side control unit(calculation unit) 330, a lens-side communication unit 340, a lens-sidestorage unit 350, an imaging optical system 360, a lens drive unit 370,an instruction unit 375, and a blurring sensor 390. The lens-sidecontrol unit 330 is connected to the lens-side communication unit 340,the lens-side storage unit 350, the lens drive unit 370, the instructionunit 375, and the blurring sensor 390.

The lens-side control unit 330 includes a microcomputer and peripheralcircuits thereof. The lens-side control unit 330 executes controlprograms stored in a lens-side storage unit 350 to control therespective units of the interchangeable lens 3 to perform automaticfocus adjustment control, blurring correction control, and the like.Blurring correction control by the lens-side control unit 330 will bedescribed below.

The lens-side storage unit 350 includes a non-volatile storage medium.In the lens-side storage unit 350, recording and reading of data arecontrolled by the lens-side control unit 330. The lens-side storage unit350 can store data indicating optical characteristics of the imagingoptical system 360, a cutoff frequency (fcω, fcα, fc_inteα, or fc_inteαwhich will be described below), and a first correction rate (Gω1 or Gα1which will be described below) according to blurring correction setting,in addition to the control programs to be executed by the lens-sidecontrol unit 330.

The imaging optical system 360 includes a plurality of lenses andaperture members, and forms an object image on an image formationsurface (imaging surface 260S). At least a part of the imaging opticalsystem 360 is configured as a moving member that is movable in theinterchangeable lens 3.

The imaging optical system 360 includes, for example, a focusing lens361 a as a moving member and a blurring correction lens 361 b as amoving member.

The lens drive unit 370 is configured to move the moving members, andincludes lens drive units 370 a and 370 b. Each of the lens drive units370 includes an actuator, a drive mechanism, and a position detectionunit for the moving members. The lens-side control unit 330 periodicallycreates positional information on the moving member based on signalsfrom the position detection unit and the actuator of the lens drive unit370.

In addition, the lens-side control unit 330 periodically recognizesmovement states according to signals from the position detection unitand the actuator of the lens drive unit 370, such as whether a movingmember is being driven to move, a movement direction of the movingmember, and whether the moving member is stopped. A cycle at whichpositional information of the moving member is created and a cycle atwhich movement states of the moving member is recognized can be madeshorter than the cycle of the hotline communication.

The focusing lens 361 a is configured to be movable back and forth alongthe optical axis O by the lens drive unit 370 a. A focus position of theimaging optical system 360 is adjusted by the movement of the focusinglens 361 a. Drive instructions such as a moving direction, a movingdistance, and a movement speed of the focusing lens 361 a may be issuedfrom the body-side control unit 230, or may be issued by the lens-sidecontrol unit 330 in consideration of the instructions from the body-sidecontrol unit 230. The position of the focusing lens 361 a in thedirection of the optical axis O can be detected by an encoder such asthe lens drive unit 370 a.

The blurring correction lens 361 b is configured to be movable back andforth in a direction intersecting the optical axis O by the lens driveunit 370 b. The movement of the blurring correction lens 361 b canreduce a shake of an object image (image blurring) on the imagingsurface 260S of the imaging sensor 260. Drive instructions such as amoving direction, a moving distance, and a movement speed of theblurring correction lens 361 b may be issued by the lens-side controlunit 330 based on the detection signal of the blurring sensor 390, ormay be issued by the lens-side control unit 330 in consideration of thedetection signal of the blurring sensor 390 and the instructions fromthe body-side control unit 230.

The position of the blurring correction lens 361 b can be detected by aHall element of the lens drive unit 370 b. As positional information onthe blurring correction lens 361 b, the lens drive unit 370 b detects aposition of the optical axis O′ of the blurring correction lens 361 b ina plane intersecting the optical axis O, for example. In other words, acoordinate value in the X-axis direction and a coordinate value in theY-axis direction of the optical axis O′ of the blurring correction lens361 b are detected, with the optical axis O as an origin position.Therefore, the positional information on the blurring correction lens361 b can be represented by the position of the optical axis O′ in theX-axis direction and the position in the Y-axis direction, and can berepresented by the moving distance of the optical axis O′ in the X-axisdirection (difference in coordinate values) and the moving distance inthe Y-axis direction.

The instruction unit 375 is provided, for example, on an outer cylinderof the interchangeable lens 3. By the operation of the instruction unit375, the user can instruct the interchangeable lens 3 to turn ON or OFFa blurring correction function and to set an antivibration mode to asports mode or a normal mode, thereby setting blurring correction withthe interchangeable lens 3. The operation signal corresponding to theuser's operation is sent from the instruction unit 375 to the lens-sidecontrol unit 330.

The blurring sensor 390 detects blurring of the interchangeable lens 3due to blurring caused by hand. The blurring sensor 390 is equivalent tothe blurring sensor 309 of the camera body 2. The blurring sensor 390outputs a detection signal of the angular velocity sensor 390 a and adetection signal of the acceleration sensor 390 b to the lens-sidecontrol unit 330. Each of the angular velocity sensor 390 a and theacceleration sensor 390 b can periodically output the detection signalat a cycle shorter than the cycle of the hotline communication.

The lens-side communication unit 340 performs predeterminedcommunication with the body-side communication unit 240. The lens-sidecommunication unit 340 includes a lens-side first communication section340 a and a lens-side second communication section 340 b. The lens-sidefirst communication section 340 a performs command data communication(to be described below) with the camera body 2, and the lens-side secondcommunication section 340 b performs hotline communication (to bedescribed below) with the camera body 2.

The lens-side first communication section 340 a is connected to thelens-side control unit 330, and information transmitted from theinterchangeable lens 3 to the camera body 2 in a manner of command datacommunication is created by the lens-side control unit 330. Thelens-side second communication section 340 b is also connected to thelens-side control unit 330, and information transmitted from theinterchangeable lens 3 to the camera body 2 in a manner of hotlinecommunication is created by the lens-side control unit 330 and thelens-side second communication section 340 b.

Arrows between the lens-side communication unit 340 and the body-sidecommunication unit 240 in FIG. 1 indicate a flow of signals.

The lens-side first communication section 340 a outputs a signal(hereinafter, referred to as a RDY signal) and a data signal(hereinafter, referred to as a DATAL signal) indicating whether theinterchangeable lens 3 is ready for command data communication, towardthe body-side first communication section 240 a. The body-side firstcommunication section 240 a outputs a clock signal (hereinafter,referred to as a CLK signal) and a data signal (hereinafter, referred toas a DATAB signal) for command data communication, toward the lens-sidefirst communication section 340 a.

The lens-side second communication section 340 b outputs a clock signal(hereinafter, referred to as a HCLK signal) and a data signal(hereinafter, referred to as a HDATA signal) for hotline communication,toward the body-side second communication section 240 b.

The hotline communication is one-way data communication from theinterchangeable lens 3 to the camera body 2, and the command datacommunication is two-way data communication between the interchangeablelens 3 and the camera body 2.

<Details of Communication>

The camera system 1 includes two independent communication systems forcommand data communication and hotline communication, and thus therespective types of communication can be performed in parallel.

In other words, the camera body 2 and the interchangeable lens 3 canstart or finish the hotline communication while performing the commanddata communication. In addition, it is possible to perform the commanddata communication while performing the hotline communication.

Therefore, the interchangeable lens 3 can continuously transmit data tothe camera body 2 in the hotline communication even during the commanddata communication. For example, even when a time required for thecommand data communication increases due to an increase in the amount ofdata, the hotline communication can be performed at a required timing.

Furthermore, while receiving data in the hotline communication, thecamera body 2 can also transmit various instructions and requests to theinterchangeable lens 3 at an arbitrary timing in the command datacommunication and can receive data from the interchangeable lens 3 at anarbitrary timing.

FIG. 2 is a timing chart illustrating the command data communication andthe hotline communication.

After instructing the start of the hotline communication in the commanddata communication, the camera body 2 periodically receives data fromthe interchangeable lens 3 in the hotline communication after time t1,for example.

Further, the camera body 2 transmits and receives to/from theinterchangeable lens 3 in the command data communication. Specifically,the camera body 2 instructs the interchangeable lens 3 to transmit andreceives various types of data, from time t2 to time t3 and from time t9and time t10. Then, from time t5 to time t6 and from time t12 to timet13, the camera body 2 transmits various types of data to theinterchangeable lens 3. At times t4, t7, t8, and t11 in between, thecamera body 2 transmits instructions relating to movement control of themoving members, such as a blurring correction start instruction, anaperture drive instruction, and a focus drive instruction, to theinterchangeable lens 3.

In the present embodiment, a large number of types of data aretransmitted and received and a frequency of instructions to theinterchangeable lens 3 is high in the command data communication.Further, depending on types of data, a time required for transmissionand reception may become long. Thus, times of transmitting and receivingvarious types of data from time t2 to time t3, from time t5 to time t6,from time t9 to time t10, and from time t12 to time t13 may be longerthan times of transmitting instructions at times t4, t7, t8, and t11.

In response to an instruction from the camera body 2 sent in the commanddata communication, for example, the interchangeable lens 3 transmitsdata indicating information on the interchangeable lens 3 (such as afocal length, a photographing distance, an aperture value, or opticalcharacteristics of the imaging optical system 360), to the camera body2. The interchangeable lens 3 further receives data indicatinginformation on the camera body 2 (such as a frame rate or a setting ofthe camera body 2), which is transmitted from the camera body 2.

In the command data communication, a time required for one transmissionand reception is long and a frequency of transmission and reception ishigh. It is therefore difficult to continuously perform datacommunication at a short cycle.

On the other hand, in the hotline communication, data communication fromthe interchangeable lens 3 to the camera body 2 can be continuouslyperformed at a short cycle because a communication terminal used for thehotline communication is different from the communication terminal usedfor the command data communication. For example, the hotlinecommunication can be performed in a desired time period from completionof an activation process of the camera body 2 to a blocking process,including an exposure period.

A start instruction and an end instruction for the hotline communicationare transmitted from the camera body 2 to the interchangeable lens 3 inthe command data communication, but the invention is not limitedthereto.

<Description of Command Data Communication>

The command data communication will be described below with reference toFIG. 3. FIG. 3 illustrates a timing of the RDY signal, the CLK signal,the DATAB signal, and the DATAL signal.

In one command data communication, after one command packet 402 istransmitted from the camera body 2 to the interchangeable lens 3, datapackets 406 and 407 (one packet from the camera body 2, the other packetfrom the interchangeable lens 3) are transmitted and received betweenthe camera body 2 and the interchangeable lens 3.

The lens-side first communication section 340 a sets a potential of theRDY signal to L level at the start of the command data communication(t21). When the RDY signal is at L level, the body-side firstcommunication section 240 a starts outputting a CLK signal 401. Afrequency of the CLK signal 401 is 8 MHz, for example. The body-sidefirst communication section 240 a outputs a DATAB signal including thecommand packet 402 having a predetermined length, in synchronizationwith the clock signal 401. The command packet 402 is indicated byswitching between H level and L level. After outputting the CLK signal401 for a time period corresponding to the data length of the commandpacket 402, the body-side first communication section 240 a ends theoutput of the CLK signal (t22).

The command packet 402 includes, for example, data for synchronization,data for identifying which number of command data communication, dataindicating an instruction from the camera body 2, data indicating a datalength of a subsequent data packet 406, data for communication errorcheck. The instructions included in the command packet 402 include, forexample, a drive instruction for the moving members from the camera body2 to the interchangeable lens 3, and a data transmission instructionfrom the camera body 2 to the interchangeable lens 3.

The interchangeable lens 3 may determine the presence or absence of acommunication error based on whether a value calculated from thereceived command packet 402 matches the data for communication errorcheck included in the command packet 402.

Once the reception of the command packet 402 has been completed, thelens-side first communication section 340 a sets the RDY signal to Hlevel and the lens-side control unit 330 starts a first control process404 based on the command packet 402 (t22).

Once the first control process 404 by the lens-side control unit 330 hasbeen completed, the lens-side first communication section 340 a can setthe RDY signal to L level (t23). The body-side first communicationsection 240 a outputs a CLK signal 405 when the input RDY signal becomesL level.

The body-side first communication section 240 a outputs a DATAB signalincluding the data packet 406, in synchronization with the CLK signal405. The lens-side first communication section 340 a outputs a DATALsignal including the data packet 407 having a predetermined length, insynchronization with the CLK signal 405. The data packets 406 and 407are indicated by switching between H level and L level. After outputtingthe CLK signal 405 for a time period corresponding to the data length ofthe data packet 406, the body-side first communication section 240 aends the output of the CLK signal (t24).

Data packets 406, 407 are variable-length data having the number of dataspecified by the command packet 402. The data packets 406 and 407includes, for example, data for synchronization, data indicatinginformation on the camera body 2, data indicating information on theinterchangeable lens 3, and data for communication error check.

The data packet 406 transmitted from the camera body 2 to theinterchangeable lens 3 includes data indicating drive amounts of themoving members, and data for transmitting settings and operation statesin the camera body 2.

The data packet 407 transmitted from the interchangeable lens 3 to thecamera body 2 includes data indicating information on a model name ofthe interchangeable lens 3, data indicating blurring correction controlin the interchangeable lens 3, and data on optical characteristics ofthe imaging optical system 360.

A receiving-side apparatus (the interchangeable lens 3 or the camerabody 2) may determine the presence or absence of a communication errorbased on whether a value calculated from the received data packets 406and 407 matches the data for communication error check included in thedata packets 406 and 407.

Once the reception of the data packets 406 and 407 has been completed,the lens-side first communication section 340 a sets the RDY signal to Hlevel and the lens-side control unit 330 starts a second control process408 based on the data packet 406 and 407 (t24).

(Description of First and Second Control Processes)

Next, an example of the first control process 404 and the second controlprocess 408 of the command data communication will be described.

For example, it is assumed that the command packet 402 includes a driveinstruction of the focusing lens 361 a. As the first control process404, the lens-side control unit 330 generates a data packet 407indicating that the drive instruction for the focusing lens 361 a hasbeen received.

Next, as the second control process 408, the lens-side control unit 330instructs the lens drive unit 370 a to move the focusing lens 361 a by amoving distance indicated by the data packet 406. Thus, movement of thefocusing lens 361 a in the optical axis O direction is started. When thelens-side control unit 330 instructs the lens drive unit 370 a to movethe focusing lens 361 a, the lens-side first communication section 340 aregards that the second control process 408 is completed, and sets theRDY signal to L level (t25).

Further, for example, it is assumed that the command packet 402 includesan instruction of starting hotline communication. As the first controlprocess 404, the lens-side control unit 330 generates a data packet 407indicating that an instruction of starting the hotline communication isreceived. Next, as a second control process 408, the lens-side controlunit 330 causes the lens-side second communication section 340 b tostart hotline communication. When the lens-side first communicationsection 340 a starts the hotline communication, the lens-side firstcommunication section 340 a regards that the second control process 408is completed, and sets the RDY signal to L level (t25).

Further, for example, it is assumed that the command packet 402 includesa drive instruction for blurring correction. As the first controlprocess 404, the lens-side control unit 330 generates a data packet 407indicating that the drive instruction for the blurring correction lens361 b has been received.

Next, as the second control process 408, the lens-side control unit 330instructs the lens drive unit 370 b to move the blurring correction lens361 b based on the correction rate and the blurring correction controlinstruction indicated by the data packet 406 and the output of theblurring sensor 390. Thus, movement of the blurring correction lens 361b in a direction intersecting the optical axis O is started. When thelens-side control unit 330 instructs lens drive unit 370 b to move theblurring correction lens 361 b, the lens-side first communicationsection 340 a regards that the second control process 408 is completed,and sets the RDY signal to L level (t25).

<Description of Hotline Communication>

The hotline communication will be described below with reference to FIG.4. FIG. 4 illustrates a timing of the HCLK signal and the HDATA signal.One HDATA signal 503 is transmitted from the interchangeable lens 3 tothe camera body 2 in synchronization with one HCLK signal 502 in onehotline communication.

In the camera system 1 according to the present embodiment, informationon agreements for the hotline communication is determined between theinterchangeable lens 3 and the camera body 2 before transmitting andreceiving the instruction of starting the hotline communication. Theinformation on agreements for the hotline communication includes, forexample, a data length (the number of bytes) of a HDATA signal to betransmitted in one hotline communication, data to be included in theHDATA signal and an order of data, a clock frequency of the HCLK signal,a cycle (Tinterval in FIG. 4), a communication time in one cycle(Ttransmit in FIG. 4), and the like.

In the present embodiment, a frequency of the HCLK signal is 2.5 MHz, adata length of one hotline communication is longer than that of thecommand packet 402, a cycle of one hotline communication is 1millisecond, and a communication time in one cycle is less than 75% of atransmission interval, but the invention is not limited thereto.

Note that one hotline communication, which means data transmissionperformed in one cycle of the hotline communication, is different from aperiod from the hotline communication start instruction to the hotlinecommunication end instruction from the camera body 2 in the command datacommunication.

First, an operation of the lens-side second communication section 340 bin the hotline communication will be described. When the instruction ofstarting the hotline communication is received in the command datacommunication before time t31, the lens-side second communicationsection 340 b starts outputting a HCLK signal to the camera body 2(t31). The HCLK signal is periodically output from the interchangeablelens 3 and shown in FIG. 4 as HCLK signals 502, 502′, . . . .

The lens-side second communication section 340 b outputs a HDATA signalin synchronization with the HCLK signal. The HDATA signal is indicatedby switching between H level and L level. One HDATA signal has apredetermined data length and is represented as N×1 byte which includeseight bits D0 to D7 in FIG. 4.

One HDATA signal may include any unused bit area and any unused bytearea to have a fixed length. A predetermined initial value is input tothe unused bit area and the unused byte area. The HDATA signal isperiodically output from the interchangeable lens 3 in synchronizationwith the HCLK signals 502, 502′ . . . , and is represented as HDATAsignals 503, 503′, . . . in FIG. 4.

Once transmission of the HDATA signal has been completed (t32), thelens-side second communication section 340 b stops outputting the HCLKsignal until time t34 when the next transmission of the HDATA signal isstarted. The period from time t31 to time t32 is one hotlinecommunication, and the period from time t31 to time t34 is one cycle ofthe hotline communication. The lens-side second communication section340 b starts a second hotline communication from time t34. The lens-sidesecond communication section 340 b periodically continues the hotlinecommunication until the instruction of ending the hotline communicationis transmitted from the camera body 2 in the command data communication.

The lens-side second communication section 340 b transmits the HDATAsignals 503, 503′, . . . to the body-side second communication section240 b by an integrated serial communication unit. The lens-side secondcommunication section 340 b uses a DMA (Direct Memory Access) function,for example, to efficiently transfer data stored in a data area of amemory (not shown) as an HDATA signal. The DMA function is a function ofautomatically accessing data on the memory without intervention of aCPU.

Next, an operation of the body-side second communication section 240 bin the hotline communication will be described. In the presentembodiment, when an initialization process at a time of power on iscompleted, or when transmission of a hotline communication startinstruction is determined in the command data communication, thebody-side second communication section 240 b waits in a receivablestate.

When transmission of the HDATA signal is started from theinterchangeable lens 3 and reception of data having a predeterminedlength is completed (t32) before the elapse (time t33) of apredetermined time period Terror0 from the start time t31, the body-sidesecond communication section 240 b determines that communication of thereceived data has been successfully performed. The predetermined timeperiod Terror0 is a time period obtained by adding a margin to acommunication time period Ttransmit in one cycle and is 80% of onecycle, for example. After receiving the HDATA signal once, the body-sidesecond communication section 240 b continues to wait in the receivablestate. After one cycle is elapsed from time t31, the body-side secondcommunication section 240 b starts receiving the next HDATA signal(t34).

If reception of data having a predetermined length is not completedwithin a predetermined time period Terror0 since the start oftransmission of the HDATA signal by the lens-side communication unit340, the body-side second communication section 240 b discards thereceived data as “communication was unsuccessful” (communication error).

Note that, in the hotline communication, it is preferable that thecommunication time period (Ttransmit) in one cycle does not exceed 75%so that a communication error process and the like can be performedduring each cycle (from time t33 to time t34), but the invention is notlimited thereto.

<Hotline Data>

In one hotline communication, one hotline data 90 is transmitted fromthe interchangeable lens 3 to the camera body 2.

The hotline data 90 can include at least two types of information, thatis, the positional information of the moving member and informationdifferent from the positional information of the moving member, for eachmoving member.

In the present embodiment, the hotline data 90 includes first data 91including positional information of the focusing lens 361 a andinformation that can be used to calculate a drive amount of the focusinglens 361 a, and second data 92 including positional information of theblurring correction lens 361 b and information that can be used tocalculate a drive amount of the blurring correction lens 361 b. Theinformation included in the first data 91 and the information includedin the second data may be the same or partially different. The camerabody 2 may calculate the drive amount of the moving member using orwithout using the information transmitted in the hotline communication.

The information different from the positional information of the movingmember is information that can be used to calculate the drive amount ofthe moving member and can be set for each moving member. For example,such information includes at least one of a reliability of thepositional information, movement states of the moving members, andoperation states of the operation members such as the instruction unit375. The above-described information and statuses are expressed in theform of numerical values and identifiers by the lens-side control unit330 and the lens-side second communication section 340 b, and areincluded in the hotline data 90.

The positional information indicating the position of the moving memberindicates a relative or absolute position of the focusing lens 361 a inthe direction of the optical axis O when the moving member is thefocusing lens 361 a, and includes the number of pulses of the actuatorof the lens drive unit 370 a and a detection value detected by the lensdrive unit 370 a.

The positional information indicating the position of the moving memberindicates a relative or absolute position of the blurring correctionlens 361 b in the plane intersecting the optical axis O when the movingmember is the blurring correction lens 361 b, and includes a coordinatevalue of the optical axis O′ and the moving distance of the blurringcorrection lens 361 b in the plane intersecting the optical axis O.

The reliability of the positional information is represented by anidentifier indicating whether the positional information is valid orinvalid and a numerical value indicating the reliability of thepositional information.

The movement state of the moving member is represented by an identifierindicating whether the moving member is moving, an identifier indicatingwhether the moving member is in a movable state, an identifierindicating whether the moving member is being stopped to be driven, anidentifier indicating whether the moving member is being driven, and anidentifier indicating a movement direction of the moving member.

The operation state of the operation member such as the instruction unit375 is represented by an identifier indicating the antivibration modeinstructed by the instruction unit 375 and an identifier indicating thepresence or absence of the instruction unit 375.

(Description of Second Data 92)

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating information included in the second data92.

The second data 92 includes, for example, at least one of data 92 h and92 i on a position of the blurring correction lens 361 b, data 92 a to92 d on blurring state based on the detection signal from the blurringsensor 390, data 92 e and 92 f on reliability of the blurring correctionamount or the calculated blurring amount, data 92 g on a movement stateof the blurring correction lens 361 b, and data 92 q indicating aninstruction by the instruction unit 375.

The data 92 a to 92 d relates to the blurring state based on thedetection signal from the blurring sensor 390 and includes an identifierselected by the lens-side control unit 330 or blurring sensor 390 basedon the detection signal from the blurring sensor 390.

The lens-side control unit 330 determines the blurring state from thedetection signal of the blurring sensor 390. In the present embodiment,as the blurring state, a state of composition changing, a state ofstable composition, and a state of tripod fixation are determined. Thelens-side control unit 330 selects an identifier indicating whether thecomposition is changing, an identifier indicating whether thecomposition is stable, and an identifier indicating whether the camerabody is fixed to the tripod, and transmits each of the identifiers tothe camera body 2 by including in the hotline data 90.

For example, based on the angular blurring detection signal in theX-axis direction output from the angular velocity sensor 390 a, thelens-side control unit 330 selects an identifier indicating whether thecomposition is changing, an identifier indicating whether thecomposition is stable, and an identifier indicating whether the camerabody is fixed to the tripod, and sets the identifiers as the data 92 a.

The data 92 b is different from the data 92 a in that theabove-described determination is made in the Y-axis direction.

The data 92 c is different from the data 92 a in that theabove-described determination is made for translational blurring.

The data 92 d is different from the data 92 a in that theabove-described determination is made for translational blurring in theY-axis direction.

The body-side control unit 230 can know the determination result of theblurring state in the interchangeable lens 3 from the data 92 a to 92 d,and can cause the blurring state of the interchangeable lens 3 and theblurring state of the camera body 2 to match each other.

The data 92 g relates to the movement state of the blurring correctionlens 361 b and includes an identifier selected by the lens-side controlunit 330. In the present embodiment, the blurring control state mayinclude, for example, a state during still-image antivibration, a stateduring moving-image antivibration, and a state during non-blurringcorrection. The state during non-blurring correction is a state in whichthe lens drive unit 370 b is not driven and blurring correction is notperformed.

The state during still-image antivibration is a state in which asuitable blurring correction is being performed during imaging of astill image, based on a still-image antivibration start instruction andthe shutter speed transmitted from the camera body 2 in the command datacommunication.

The state during moving-image antivibration is a state in which asuitable blurring correction is being performed during imaging of amoving image or imaging of a live view image, based on a moving-imageantivibration start instruction transmitted from the camera body 2 inthe command data communication.

In the present embodiment, the effect of the blurring correction duringthe moving-image antivibration is set to be stronger than that duringstill-image antivibration during high-speed photographing.

The body-side control unit 230 can know the movement state of theblurring correction lens 361 b from the data 92 g.

The data 92 h and 92 i relates to the position of the blurringcorrection lens 361 b and is represented by a numerical value indicatingthe position of the blurring correction lens 361 b or a numerical valueindicating the moving distance of the blurring correction lens 361 b.

The data 92 h indicates a current position of the optical axis O′ of theblurring correction lens 361 b in the X-axis direction. In the presentembodiment, the data 92 h represents coordinate values in the X-axisdirection detected in the interchangeable lens 3 converted intocoordinate values (image plane conversion values) on the imaging surface260S of the imaging sensor 260. The image plane conversion value iscalculated by multiplying the coordinate value of the blurringcorrection lens 361 b, which is detected by the interchangeable lens 3,by an antivibration coefficient. The antivibration coefficientrepresents a moving distance of the image plane on the imaging surface260S with respect to a unit moving distance of the blurring correctionlens 361 b. The antivibration coefficient is a value that variesdepending on a focal length and photographing distance of the imagingoptical system 360, and is stored in the lens-side storage unit 350.

The lens-side control unit 330 reads an antivibration coefficientaccording to the focal length and the photographing distance when thecoordinate value of the blurring correction lens 361 b is detected, fromthe lens-side storage unit 350, and calculates the image planeconversion value. The calculation of the image plane conversion value inthe interchangeable lens 3 has an effect that it is not necessary totransmit the antivibration coefficient according to the focal length andthe photographing distance, to the camera body 2, but a value before theimage plane conversion may be transmitted in the hotline communication.

The data 92 i is different from the data 92 h in that theabove-described determination is made in the Y-axis direction.

The data 92 e and 92 f relates to the reliability of the positionalinformation on the blurring correction lens 361 b and the reliability ofthe calculated blurring amount and blurring correction amount, andincludes an identifier selected based on the reliability of the data 92h to 92 o by the lens-side control unit 330. In the present embodiment,the data 92 e and 92 f indicates whether the data 92 h to 92 o areindividually valid. However, the invention is not limited thereto.

The body-side control unit 230 can know the reliability of the data 92 hto 92 o from the data 92 e and 92 f.

The data 92 q represents an instruction by the instruction unit 375, andincludes, for example, an identifier indicating either of the sportsmode or the normal mode instructed by the instruction unit 375 or thepresence or absence of the instruction unit 375. The lens-side controlunit 330 causes the data 92 q to include an identifier indicating thatthe instruction unit 375 is absent in the case of the interchangeablelens 3 not including the instruction unit 375.

<Description of Blurring Correction>

The camera system 1 according to the present embodiment can perform alens-side blurring correction performed by the lens drive unit 370 bdriving the blurring correction lens 361 b and a body-side blurringcorrection performed by the sensor drive unit 265 driving the imagingsensor 260. Therefore, the lens-side blurring correction and thebody-side blurring correction can cooperate with each other to improve ablurring correction effect.

In the lens-side blurring correction and the body-side blurringcorrection, the control can be appropriately changed according to eachsetting related to the blurring correction and the blurring state.

For example, a movable range of the blurring correction lens 361 b orthe imaging sensor 260 (hereinafter, referred to as a movable unit) or afrequency band of the blurring to be corrected can be changed accordingto the blurring state. In the tripod fixation state, a blurringdetection signal in a frequency band of approximately 10 Hz or morewhich is likely to be generated during the tripod fixation may beextracted and corrected. In the composition changing state, thefrequency band may be limited to a specific range or the movable rangemay be reduced so as not to correct the blurring of the interchangeablelens 3 intended by the user due to a change in the composition. In thecomposition stable state, a frequency band range may be made wider thanthat in the composition changing state and the movable range may be madelarger; for example, the movable range may be matched with a mechanicalmovable range.

In addition, the frequency band of the blurring to be corrected and themovable range of the movable unit can be changed according to theantivibration mode and the shutter speed. When the antivibration mode isthe sports mode, the movable range may be reduced in order to cope withphotographing at a shutter speed faster than that in the normal mode.When the antivibration mode is in the normal mode, the movable range canbe made larger than that in the sports mode to enhance the effect of theblurring correction.

In addition, the blurring correction control may be changed between thestill image photographing and the moving image photographing.

During the moving image photographing, the frequency band may be widenedor the movable range may be widened so that the blurring can also belargely corrected. During the still image photographing, the frequencyband is made narrow compared with during the moving image photographingto reduce noise, so that the accuracy may be improved. In the presentembodiment, any one of two types of instructions including still-imageantivibration start instruction and the moving-image antivibration startinstruction is transmitted from the camera body 2 to the interchangeablelens 3 in the command data communication, and thus the interchangeablelens 3 can perform blurring correction control suitable for the stillimage or the moving image.

The moving-image antivibration start instruction includes a secondcorrection rate (Gω2, Gα2) indicating a sharing ratio of the blurringcorrection in the interchangeable lens 3 (see FIG. 9). The secondcorrection rate (Gω2, Gα2) indicates a ratio of the blurring correctionof the interchangeable lens 3 when the interchangeable lens 3 and thecamera body 2 cooperate with each other to correct the blurring. Thesecond correction rate (Gω2, Gα2) indicates a ratio of the blurringcorrection of the camera body 2, and the lens-side control unit 330 maycalculate a ratio of the blurring correction of the interchangeable lens3 so as to be 100% together with the ratio of the blurring correction ofthe camera body 2. The second correction rate (Gω2, Gα2) can be set forangular blurring and translational blurring, respectively. The secondcorrection rate is set by a combination of the second correction rateGω2 for the angular blurring correction and the second correction rateGα2 for the translational blurring correction.

Further, the still-image antivibration start instruction includes thesecond correction rate according to the shutter speed. When the secondcorrection rate changes due to the change in the shutter speed, thestill-image antivibration start instruction is transmitted from thecamera body 2 to the interchangeable lens 3 again by the change in thesecond correction rate. The shutter speed depends on an accumulationtime of a photoelectric conversion unit of the imaging sensor 260 and adrive speed of a mechanical shutter mechanism when the mechanicalshutter mechanism is provided, and may be an electrical shutter speed ora mechanical shutter speed.

In the present embodiment, the second correction rate according to theshutter speed is transmitted from the camera body 2 to theinterchangeable lens 3 in the command data communication together withthe still-image antivibration start instruction, but the interchangeablelens 3 stores the second correction rate according to the shutter speedand the information on the shutter speed may be sent from the camerabody 2 in the command data communication.

The camera body 2 may change the second correction rate depending on theblurring correction setting (antivibration mode or blurring state). Whenthe second correction rate changes, the moving-image antivibration startinstruction or the still-image antivibration start instruction subjectedto change the second correction rate is transmitted from the camera body2 to the interchangeable lens 3 again.

<Calculation of Target Position for Blurring Correction>

A calculation of a drive amount of the blurring correction lens 361 b bythe lens-side control unit 330 will be described below with reference toFIG. 6. In the present embodiment, the drive amount is a drive amount ofthe blurring correction lens 361 b required to correct the blurring upto a target position, and is also referred to as a total blurringamount. In addition, the target position of the blurring correction lens361 b is calculated as the drive amount.

The body-side second control section 230 b of the camera body 2calculates a target position of the imaging sensor 260 as a drive amountof the blurring correction, similarly to the lens-side control unit 330.

The lens-side control unit 330 calculates a target position LC1 forcorrection of the angular velocity blurring around the X-axis based onthe detection signal of the angular velocity sensor 390 a and a targetposition LC2 for correction of the acceleration blurring in the X-axisdirection based on the detection signal of the acceleration sensor 390b, and calculates a target position LC for correction of the blurring ofthe blurring correction lens 361 b in the X-axis direction.

In the above description, only the X-axis is described, but thelens-side control unit 330 calculates a target position LC1′ forcorrection of the angular velocity blurring around the Y-axis based onthe detection signal of the angular velocity sensor 390 a and a targetposition LC2′ for correction of the translational blurring in the Y-axisdirection based on the detection signal of the acceleration sensor 390b, and calculates a target position LC′ for correction of the blurringin the Y-axis direction. Hereinafter, since operations of the X-axis andthe Y-axis are the same, only the X-axis will be described.

The lens-side control unit 330 includes a filter unit 331, a firstchange unit 332, a second change unit 333, an integration unit 334, afirst judgement unit 335, a second judgement unit 336, and a thirdjudgement unit 337. A blurring angular velocity ω1 detected by theangular velocity sensor 390 a is input to the filter unit 331. Thefilter unit 331 cuts a predetermined cutoff frequency fcω or less fromthe blurring angular velocity ω1, and outputs a blurring angularvelocity ω2 to the first change unit 332.

The first change unit 332 multiplies a predetermined first angularblurring correction rate Gω1 by the blurring angular velocity ω2, andoutputs a blurring angular velocity ω3 to the second change unit 333.The second change unit 333 multiplies a predetermined second angularblurring correction rate Gω2 by the blurring angular velocity ω3, andoutputs a blurring angular velocity ω4 to the integration unit 334. Theintegration unit 334 integrates the blurring angular velocity ω4, andoutputs the target position LC1 of the blurring correction lens 361 bfor the correction of the angular blurring.

The first judgement unit 335 receives the detection signal (blurringangular velocity ω1) output from the angular velocity sensor 390 a, andjudges a lens-side blurring state related to the angular blurringgenerated in the interchangeable lens 3.

In the present embodiment, the blurring state includes at least one of acomposition changing state, a stable composition state, and a tripodfixation state. The composition changing state is a state in which theuser swings the interchangeable lens 3 in a horizontal or verticaldirection and the composition is changed. The stable composition stateis a state in which the user fixes the position of the interchangeablelens 3 and the composition is stable. The tripod fixation state is astate in which the interchangeable lens 3 or the camera body 2 is fixedto the tripod.

The lens-side blurring state judged by the first judgement unit 335 isinput to the second judgement unit 336. Further, the lens-side blurringstate judged by the first judgement unit 335 is transmitted to thecamera body 2 in hotline communication to be described below.

Here, the body-side second control section 230 b judges, based on thedetection signal of the angular velocity sensor 290 a, a body-sideblurring state related to the angular blurring generated in the camerabody 2. The body-side second control section 230 b judges, as a blurringstate, a lens-side priority state in addition to the same compositionchanging state, stable composition state, and tripod fixation state asin the lens-side control unit 330. The lens-side priority state is astate in which, when judges for the interchangeable lens 3 and thecamera body 2 do not match with respect to the blurring state, thejudges for the interchangeable lens 3 is prioritized due to the user'ssetting.

The body-side blurring state judged by the body-side second controlsection 230 b is transmitted to the lens-side control unit 330 incommand data communication to be described below, and is input to thesecond judgement unit 336. Therefore, the lens-side blurring state andthe body-side blurring state are input to the second judgement unit 336.The second judgement unit 336 judges, based on the lens-side blurringstate and the body-side blurring state, a total blurring state of theangular blurring.

As shown in FIG. 7, the second judgement unit 336 judges that thelens-side blurring state is the total blurring state when the body-sideblurring state is the lens-side priority state, and judges that thebody-side blurring state is the total blurring state when the body-sidejudge result is other than the lens-side priority state.

The second judgement unit 336 stores a relation among a total blurringstate for angular blurring, a threshold value, and a coefficient (FIG.8), outputs a cutoff frequency fcω corresponding to the total blurringstate for the angular blurring to the filter unit 331, and outputs afirst correction rate Gω1 to the first change unit.

The second change unit 333 receives a second correction rate Gω2 that isjudged by the body-side first control section 230 a and is transmittedin the command data communication.

In the present embodiment, the sum of a second correction rate of thecamera body 2 and a second correction rate of the interchangeable lens 3is set to be 1. The body-side first control section 230 a stores arelation among a still-image/moving-image antivibration, a shutterspeed, and a second correction rate as shown in FIG. 9. In the presentembodiment, the second correction rate in the X-axis direction and thesecond correction rate in the Y-axis direction are the same, but theinvention is not limited thereto. Further, the second correction rateGω2 for the angular blurring and the second correction rate Gα2 for thetranslational blurring are the same, but the invention is not limitedthereto.

In the present embodiment, when the shutter speed is fast, theinterchangeable lens 3 performs the blurring correction suitable forhigh-speed photographing, and when the shutter speed is not fast, theblurring correction of the interchangeable lens 3 cooperates with theblurring correction of the camera body 2 to increase the effect ofblurring correction.

Therefore, when the shutter speed is faster than, for example, 1/60seconds in the still-image antivibration, the second correction rate ofthe interchangeable lens 3 is set to 1, and the second correction rateof the camera body 2 is set to 0. When the shutter speed is slower than,for example, 1/60 seconds in the moving-image antivibration or thestill-image antivibration, the second correction rate of theinterchangeable lens 3 is set to 0.5, and the second correction rate ofthe camera body 2 is set to 0.5. The second correction rate can bechanged as appropriate, and when the camera body 2 does not have theblurring correction function, the second correction rate of theinterchangeable lens 3 is set to 1 and the second correction rate of thecamera body 2 is set to 0.

Further, when the interchangeable lens 3 has the angular blurringcorrection function but does not have the translational blurringcorrection function, the second correction rate for the angular blurringis set as described above, and the second correction rate for thetranslational blurring of the interchangeable lens 3 is set to 0 and thesecond correction rate for the translational blurring of the camera body2 is set to 1. The second correction rate may be adjusted according tothe accuracy of the blurring correction function of the camera body 2and the interchangeable lens 3. The second correction rate istransmitted from the camera body 2 to the interchangeable lens 3 in thecommand data communication of the antivibration start instruction.However, correction rate change command data communication is provided,and the second correction rate may be transmitted every time the secondcorrection rate is changed after the antivibration is started.

The third judgement unit 337 receives an instruction regarding theblurring correction transmitted from the body-side first control section230 a in the command data communication. The instruction regarding theblurring correction transmitted from the camera body 2 includes whetherthe blurring correction control is for either of the moving-imageantivibration or the still-image antivibration or whether theantivibration mode is any one of the sports mode, the normal mode, andthe lens-side priority mode. Further, the third judgement unit 337receives the antivibration mode, which is set by the user, from theinstruction unit 375.

The third judgement unit 337 stores a relation between the instructionregarding the blurring correction (still-image/moving-imageantivibration, antivibration mode) and a threshold value (frequencyband, cutoff frequency fc_inteω) shown in FIG. 10, and outputs thecorresponding cutoff frequency fc_inteω to the integration unit 334. Inthe present embodiment, the cutoff frequency fc_inteω in the sports modeis made larger than the cutoff frequency fc_inteω in the normal mode,the invention is not limited thereto. The integration unit 334integrates based on the blurring angular velocity ω4 and the cutofffrequency fc_inteω, and calculates the target position LC1 for theangular blurring.

The lens-side control unit 330 calculates the translational blurringtarget position LC2 required for correcting the translational blurringin the same manner as the calculation of the angular blurring targetposition LC1 required for correcting the blurring angular velocity, andadds and subtracts the target positions LC1 and LC2 to calculate a finaltarget position LC.

Here, a description will be made with respect to differences between thecalculation of the translational blurring target position LC2 by thelens-side control unit 330 and the calculation of the angular blurringtarget position LC1. The components 331 to 337 for calculating theangular blurring target position LC1 are equal to the components 331 to337 for calculating the translational blurring target position LC2, butthe invention is not limited thereto.

A blurring acceleration α1 detected by the acceleration sensor 390 b isinput to the filter unit 331. The filter unit 331 cuts a predeterminedcutoff frequency fcα or less, and outputs a blurring acceleration α2 tothe first change unit 332. The first change unit 332 multiplies apredetermined first correction rate Gα1 for translational blurring bythe blurring acceleration α2, and outputs a blurring acceleration α3 tothe second change unit 333. The second change unit 333 multiplies apredetermined second translational blurring correction rate Gα2 by theblurring acceleration α3, and outputs a blurring acceleration α4 to theintegration unit 334. The integration unit 334 integrates twice based onthe blurring acceleration α4 and the cutoff frequency fc_inteα, andoutputs a target position LC2 for the translational blurring correctionof the blurring correction lens 361 b.

The second judgement unit 336 stores a relation among a total blurringstate for the translational blurring, a cutoff frequency fcα, and afirst correction rate Gα1 (FIG. 11), outputs a cutoff frequency fcαcorresponding to the total blurring state to the filter unit 331, andoutputs the first correction rate Gα1 to the first change unit 332.

The second change unit 333 receives the second correction rate Gα2 fortranslational blurring that is judged by the body-side first controlsection 230 a and is transmitted in the command data communication. Thethird judgement unit 337 stores a relation among astill-image/moving-image antivibration, an antivibration mode, and acutoff frequency fc_inteα shown in FIG. 12, and outputs a correspondingcutoff frequency fc_inteα to the integration unit 334.

In the present embodiment, the cutoff frequency fc_inteα at thetranslational blurring target position LC2 is made larger than thecutoff frequency fc_inteω at the angular blurring target position LC1,but the invention is not limited thereto.

A description will be made below with respect to differences between acalculation of a target position BC1 of the imaging sensor 260 forcorrection of the angular blurring by the body-side second controlsection 230 b and a target position BC2 of the imaging sensor 260 forcorrection of the acceleration blurring and the calculation of thetarget positions LC1 and LC2 by the lens-side control unit 330. Althoughcomponents 331 to 337 are described as components for calculating thetarget positions BC1 and BC2, the components may be different from thecomponents of the lens-side control unit 330.

In the present embodiment, the body-side second control section 230 bincludes a filter unit 331, a first change unit 332, a second changeunit 333, and an integration unit 334, and the body-side first controlsection 230 a includes a first judgement unit 335, a second judgementunit 336, and a third judgement unit 337 to transmit the judgementresult to the body-side second control section 230 b, but can be changedas appropriate.

The body-side second control section 230 b outputs the target positionsBC1 and BC2 based on the blurring angular velocity ω1 detected byblurring velocity sensors 290 a and 290 b, the blurring acceleration α1,the cutoff frequencies fcω and fcα, the first correction rates Gω1 andGα1, the body-side second correction rates Gω2 and Gα2, and the cutofffrequencies fc_intew and fc_inteα. The same applies to X-axis and theY-axis.

The first judgement unit 335 of the body-side first control section 230a determines, based on the output of the blurring sensor 290, thebody-side blurring state for each of the angular blurring and theangular velocity blurring. Further, the second judgement unit 336 of thebody-side first control section 230 a judges, based on the body-sideblurring state and the lens-side blurring state transmitted from theinterchangeable lens 3 in the hotline communication, a total blurringstate, and judges the cutoff frequencies fcω and fcα and the firstcorrection rates Gω1 and Gα1. The judgement method is the same as thatof the lens-side control unit 330.

Further, the third judgement unit 337 of the body-side first controlsection 230 a determines the cutoff frequencies fc_inteω and fc_inteα,based on the information indicating whether to be moving imagephotographing or still image photographing, which is recognized by thebody-side first control section 230 a, the body-side antivibration mode,and the lens-side antivibration mode transmitted from theinterchangeable lens 3 in the hotline communication. The determinationmethod is the same as that of the lens-side control unit 330.

In the camera body 2 and the interchangeable lens 3 of the presentembodiment, the variables and the threshold values (the first correctionrate and the cutoff frequency) used for calculating the target positionsLC and BC match with each other. Therefore, it is possible to reduce asense of discomfort in the effect of the blurring correction that occurswhen the first correction rate or the cutoff frequency in the camerabody 2 does not match with that in the interchangeable lens 3. Thecoefficients and the threshold values may be deviated in the camera body2 and the interchangeable lens 3 to the extent that the effect of theblurring correction does not cause a sense of discomfort.

As for the second correction rate, the sum of the lens-side secondcorrection rate (the sharing ratio of the interchangeable lens 3 for theblurring correction) and the body-side second correction rate (thesharing ratio of the camera body 2 for the blurring correction) is setto 1 (or 100%). Accordingly, it is possible to improve the effect of theblurring correction without excessively preforming the blurringcorrection or reducing the blurring correction too much by cooperatingthe blurring correction in the interchangeable lens 3 and the blurringcorrection in the camera body 2 with each other.

Although the second judgement unit 336 is provided on both of thelens-side control unit 330 and the body-side second control section 230b, the total blurring state may be transmitted from the camera body 2 tothe interchangeable lens 3 in the command data communication. In such acase, it is not necessary for the lens-side control unit 330 to transmitthe lens-side blurring state from the first judgement unit 335 to thesecond judgement unit 336, and the second judgement unit 336 does notneed to store and refer to the correlation of FIG. 7.

Further, the second judgement unit 336 is provided on both of thelens-side control unit 330 and the body-side second control section 230b to judge the total blurring state, the cutoff frequency, and the firstcorrection rate in FIGS. 8 and 11, but the cutoff frequency and thefirst correction rate may be transmitted from the camera body 2 to theinterchangeable lens 3 in the command data communication. In such acase, it is not necessary for the lens-side control unit 330 to transmitthe lens-side blurring state from the first judgement unit 335 to thesecond judgement unit 336, and the second judgement unit 336 is not alsoprovided.

Similarly, the third judgement unit 337 is provided on both of thelens-side control unit 330 and the body-side second control section 230b to judge the cutoff frequency of the integration unit 334 in FIGS. 10and 12, but the cutoff frequency may be transmitted and received to/fromthe camera body 2 and the interchangeable lens 3. In such a case, thedetermination of the cutoff frequency in either of the lens-side controlunit 330 or the body-side second control section 230 b can be omitted.

The lens-side control unit 330 further reads out an antivibrationcoefficient at a time when the detection signal is output, andcalculates an image plane conversion value of the target position LCbased on the total blurring amount and the antivibration coefficient.Here, the lens-side control unit 330 calculates the image planeconversion value without taking the drive range (a mechanical movablerange and a controlled movable range) of the blurring correction lens361 b into consideration. Here, the mechanical movable range refers to amovable range based on a holding mechanism of the blurring correctionlens 361 b, and the controlled movable range refers to a movable rangelimited by user settings and photographing conditions.

The lens-side control unit 330 also calculates the target position ofthe blurring correction lens 361 b in the X-axis direction and theY-axis direction in consideration of the mechanical movable range andthe controlled movable range. The moving distance may be calculated as adifference between the target position and the current position(difference in coordinate values) in the X-axis direction and the Y-axisdirection.

The lens-side control unit 330, which has calculated the moving distanceor target positions of the blurring correction lens 361 b, outputs adrive signal to the lens drive unit 370 b to drive the blurringcorrection lens 361 b. The lens drive unit 370 b having received thedrive signal moves the blurring correction lens 361 b in the X-axis andY-axis directions that intersect the optical axis O.

Further, the lens drive unit 370 b periodically detects positions of theblurring correction lens 361 b in the X-axis direction and the Y-axisdirection to output the positions as current positions to the lens-sidecontrol unit 330. The lens-side control unit 330 may use values outputfrom the lens drive unit 370 b as the data 92 h and 92 i as they are, ormay set values subjected to calculation such as image plane conversionas the data 92 h and 92 i.

The body-side second control section 230 b creates a drive signal basedon at least one of the positional information on the blurring correctionlens 361 b received in the hotline communication, the instruction fromthe body-side first control section 230 a, and the detection signaloutput from the blurring sensor 290, and outputs the drive signal to thesensor drive unit 265. The sensor drive unit 265 having received thedrive signal moves the imaging sensor 260 in the X-axis and Y-axisdirections that intersect the optical axis O.

Next, an example of the antivibration operation will be described withreference to FIGS. 13 and 14.

<Antivibration Operation during Moving Image Photographing>

FIG. 13 is a timing chart showing a state of the blurring correctionstate during the moving image photographing. Originally, there is atiming chart for two axes of the X-axis and the Y-axis, but since theX-axis and the Y-axis are almost the same, only the operation for oneaxis will be described. In FIGS. 13 and 14, the angular blurring isshown, and the translational blurring is not shown because of beingsimilar to the angular blurring. In FIGS. 13 and 14, it is assumed thatthe lens-side priority state is selected as the body-side blurringstate. Further, the antivibration mode is not changed and is omitted.

The body-side first control section 230 a recognizes that a start switchsuch as a main switch is turned on at time t1.

The body-side first control section 230 a instructs the lens-sidecontrol unit 330 to start blurring detection in the command datacommunication at time t2 and also instructs the body-side second controlsection 230 b to start blurring detection. The blurring sensors 290 and390 start the blurring detection according to the instruction, and thedetection signal is output from time t3. The body-side second controlsection 230 b and the lens-side control unit 330 judges the blurringstate based on the detection signal, and set the judgement results tothe lens-side blurring state and the body-side blurring state,respectively.

It is assumed that the body-side first control section 230 a instructsthe start of hotline communication in command data communication beforetime t4. The lens-side control unit 330 periodically outputs hotlinedata 90 since before time t4, and in FIG. 13, the time during which thehotline communication is performed includes time t4, time t4′, and othertimes.

The body-side first control section 230 a recognizes the lens-sideblurring state from data 92 a to 92 d of the hotline data 90. Further,the body-side first control section 230 a acquires at least thebody-side blurring state from the body-side second control section 230 bat approximately the same time. At time t4, both of the interchangeablelens 3 and the camera body 2 are determined to be in a stablecomposition state (indicated by black circles in FIG. 13).

The body-side first control section 230 a instructs the lens-sidecontrol unit 330 to start moving-image antivibration in the command datacommunication at time t5 and also instructs the body-side second controlsection 230 b to start the moving-image antivibration. The moving-imageantivibration start instruction in the command data communicationincludes the body-side antivibration mode, the body-side blurring state,and the second correction rate.

Here, the hotline communication is started at time t5, and the body-sidefirst control section 230 a recognizes the lens-side antivibration modefrom data 92 q of hotline communication at time t4. The body-side firstcontrol section 230 a transmits the body-side antivibration mode to thelens-side control unit 330 in the command data communication at time t5in consideration of the lens-side antivibration mode and the body-sideantivibration mode set by the operation member 280.

Further, the body-side first control section 230 a recognizes that thelens-side blurring state for the angular blurring is a stablecomposition state (indicated by black circles in FIG. 13), based on data92 a of the hotline data 90 at time t4. Since the lens-side blurringstate is the stable composition state and the body-side blurring stateis the lens-side priority state, the body-side first control section 230a transmits, the fact that the total blurring state for the angularblurring is the stable composition state, to the lens-side control unit330 in the command data communication at time t5. Here, at time t4, thebody-side blurring state for the angular blurring based on the detectionsignal of the blurring sensor 290 is also a stable composition state.Accordingly, even at time t4, the blurring state in the camera body 2and the blurring state in the interchangeable lens 3 can be matched witheach other.

Further, the body-side first control section 230 a determines the secondcorrection rate Gω2 based on the setting at time t5 and FIG. 9,transmits a lens-side second correction rate Gω2 to the lens-sidecontrol unit 330 in the command data communication at time t5, andtransmits a body-side second correction rate Gω2 to the body-side secondcontrol section 230 b at the same time.

Upon receiving the moving-image antivibration start instruction at timet5, the lens-side control unit 330 or the body-side second controlsection 230 b calculates a target position of the movable unit, and thelens drive unit 370 b or the sensor drive unit 265 drives the movableunit from time t6 to start the blurring correction. In the example ofFIG. 13, before time t5, the movable unit stops driving and is in astate of falling in a direction of gravity. Upon receiving theinstruction at time t5, the movable unit is once driven to a movablecenter, and is subjected to the blurring correction after time t6.

In this way, since the body-side first control section 230 aperiodically acquires the hotline data 90, it is possible to recognizethe change in the lens-side antivibration mode or the lens-side blurringstate from the hotline data 90. When the body-side first control section230 a recognizes that the change in the lens-side antivibration mode orthe lens-side blurring state from the hotline data 90, the command datacommunication is performed as necessary to match the blurring correctioncontrol in the camera body 2 with blurring correction control in theinterchangeable lens 3.

Command data communication at time t5′ will be described.

It is assumed that the user operates the interchangeable lens 3 tochange the composition at time t7 in FIG. 13. Then, the first judgementunit 335 of the lens-side control unit 330 judges that the lens-sideblurring state is a composition changing state. Then, in hotlinecommunication (time t4′) performed after time t7, the hotline data 90 istransmitted including the data 92 a indicating that the lens-sideblurring state is the composition changing state. On the other hand,from the detection result of the blurring sensor 290 of the camera body2, the detection of the stable composition state continues.

In FIG. 13, since the lens-side priority state is selected as thebody-side blurring state, the body-side first control section 230 atransmits the fact that the total blurring state is a lens-side prioritystate in the command data communication at time t5′ and also transmitsthe lens-side blurring state (composition changing state) to thebody-side second control section 230 b at the same time. When thelens-side control unit 330 receives the fact that the total blurringstate is the lens-side priority state in the command data communicationat time t5′, the second judgement unit 336 judges that the totalblurring state is a composition changing state and starts blurringcorrection of the composition changing state at time t5′. Further, sincethe body-side second control section 230 b also receives that the totalblurring state is the composition changing state, the blurringcorrection in the composition changing state is started at time t5′.

In this way, since the lens-side blurring state can be transmitted fromthe interchangeable lens 3 in the periodic hotline communication attimes t4 and t4′, the camera body 2 does not need to perform the commanddata communication including the instruction to transmit the lens-sideblurring state from the interchangeable lens 3 to the camera body 2.Further, when the command data communication including the instructionto transmit the lens-side blurring state from the interchangeable lens 3to the camera body 2 is performed, the command data communication isnecessary to be periodically performed. When the cycle is longer thanthat of the hotline communication, there is a problem that the time whenthe lens-side blurring state and the body-side blurring state do notmatch becomes long.

Further, when the command data communication including the instructionto transmit the lens-side blurring state from the interchangeable lens 3to the camera body 2 is performed at a high cycle, there is also aproblem that another command data communication cannot be performedduring that time. However, according to the present embodiment, sincethe blurring state is transmitted in the hotline communicationindependent of the command data communication, there is an effect thatthe above-described problems do not occur.

<Antivibration Operation during Still Image Photographing>

FIG. 14 is a timing chart showing a state of the blurring correctionstate during the still image photographing and also shows through imageexposure before and after a release operation of instructing the stillimage photographing. Originally, there is a timing chart for two axes ofthe X-axis and the Y-axis, but since the X-axis and the Y-axis arealmost the same, only the operation for one axis will be described.

The above-described hotline communication is periodically performedafter time t1. At time t2, the above-described moving-imageantivibration start instruction is transmitted from the camera body 2 tothe interchangeable lens 3 in the command data communication. In FIG.14, the lens-side priority state is selected as the body-side blurringstate.

At time t2, it is assumed that the user operates the interchangeablelens 3 to change the composition and the blurring state of thecomposition changing state is detected in both of the interchangeablelens 3 and the camera body 2. Therefore, in the moving-imageantivibration after time t2, the composition changing state is selectedas the total blurring state.

When the user stops the composition change operation of theinterchangeable lens 3 at time t3, data 92 a indicating the stablecomposition state as the lens-side blurring state is transmitted in thenext hotline communication (time t4).

On the other hand, at the timing of time t4, the composition changestate is continuously detected from the detection result of the blurringsensor 290, which does not match the detection result of the blurringsensor 390. Further, it is assumed that the operation of still imagephotographing is performed by the user at time t5.

The body-side first control section 230 a recognizes that the releaseswitch is turned on by the operation member 280 at time t5. Thebody-side first control section 230 a operates the imaging sensor 260 attime t6 to stop the creation of the through image.

At time t7, the body-side first control section 230 a instructs thelens-side control unit 330 to start the still-image antivibration in thecommand data communication and instructs the body-side second controlsection 230 b to start the still-image antivibration. From time t7 totime t9, blurring correction control suitable for the still imagephotographing is performed.

Similarly to the moving-image antivibration start instruction, thestill-image antivibration start instruction at time t7 includes thebody-side antivibration mode, the body-side angular blurring state(lens-side priority state), and the second correction rate.

The body-side first control section 230 a recognizes that the totalblurring state is a stable composition state, from the fact that thelens-side blurring state is the stable composition state and thebody-side blurring state is the lens-side priority state with the data92 a of the hotline communication (time t4) immediately before time t7.

Accordingly, at time t7, the still-image antivibration start instructionto the interchangeable lens 3 includes the lens-side priority state, andthe still-image antivibration start instruction to the body-side secondcontrol section 230 b includes the stable composition state as the totalblurring state.

Further, the body-side first control section 230 a determines the secondcorrection rate Gω2 based on the setting at time t7 and FIG. 9,transmits a lens-side second correction rate Gω2 to the lens-sidecontrol unit 330 in the command data communication at time t7, andtransmits a body-side second correction rate Gω2 to the body-side secondcontrol section 230 b at the same time.

According to such instructions, the lens-side control unit 330 operatesthe lens drive unit 370 b to drive the blurring correction lens 361 b,and starts the blurring correction suitable for a still image. The sameapplies to the body-side second control section 230 b.

The body-side first control section 230 a starts still image exposure bythe imaging sensor 260 at time t8, ends the still image exposure at timet9, and restarts through image exposure at time t12.

When the exposure is completed, the body-side first control section 230a instructs the lens-side control unit 330 to start moving-imageantivibration in the command data communication and restartsmoving-image antivibration (time t10). Further, similarly to theinterchangeable lens 3, the body-side first control section 230 ainstructs the body-side second control section 230 b to startmoving-image antivibration.

When the exposure is completed, the lens-side control unit 330 restartsthe hotline communication at time t11. The hotline communication may becontinued from time t8 to time t11.

At time t13, the user performs a composition change operation to detectthe composition changing state from the detection result of the blurringsensor 390 of the interchangeable lens 3. On the other hand, the stablecomposition state is detected from the detection result of the blurringsensor 290 of the camera body 2. In FIG. 14, since the lens-sidepriority state is set as the body-side blurring state, the body-sidefirst control section 230 a transmits the lens-side priority state tothe interchangeable lens 3 in the command data communication at timet14, and transmits the lens-side blurring state (composition changingstate) received in the hotline communication to the body-side secondcontrol section 230 b, as a total blurring state. From time t14, thelens-side control unit 330 and the body-side second control section 230b perform blurring correction control in which the total blurring stateis set to the composition changing state.

As described above, even when the lens-side blurring state and thebody-side blurring state do not match, the lens-side blurring state canbe transmitted to the camera body 2 in the hotline communication, andthus the time when the blurring state of the camera body 2 does notmatch the blurring state of the interchangeable lens 3 can be shortened.

According to the above-described embodiment, the following operationaleffects can be obtained.

Since the sharing ratio between the blurring correction in theinterchangeable lens 3 and the blurring correction in the camera body 2is transmitted and received, it is possible to improve the blurringcorrection effect by cooperating the blurring correction in theinterchangeable lens 3 and the blurring correction in the camera body 2with each other in the camera system 1. Further, since the sharing ratiobetween the interchangeable lens 3 and the camera body 2 can be set, itis possible to prevent the blurring correction in the interchangeablelens 3 or the camera body 2 from being excessively performed and beingsuppressed too much. Since the correction rate can be set by thebody-side control unit 230, it is possible to perform the blurringcorrection according to photographing conditions such as still imagephotographing or moving image photographing and the shutter speed.Further, the sharing ratio can be set for each of the angular blurringand the translational blurring, and even when the interchangeable lens 3has the angular blurring correction function but does not have thetranslational blurring correction function, the camera body 2 and theinterchangeable lens 3 can cooperate with each other. Further, since thesharing ratio is transmitted in the command data communication, thetiming of the transmission from the camera body 2 can be determined, andthe hotline communication can be performed in parallel. Since thebody-side first control section 230 a transmits the body-side sharingratio to the body-side second control section 230 b and transmits thelens-side sharing ratio to the lens-side control unit 330, the body-sidesecond control section 230 b and the lens-side control unit 330 can beeasily controlled based on each of the sharing ratios.

Since the camera body 2 transmits the body-side information based on theinformation used for calculating the target position of the movable unitfrom the detection signal of the blurring sensor 309 to theinterchangeable lens 3, the information used for calculating the targetposition can be matched with each other in the camera body 2 and theinterchangeable lens 3. The information used for calculating the targetposition includes information such as the cutoff frequency on thethreshold value of the frequency band for correcting the blurring andinformation such as the first correction rate on the strength of theeffect of the blurring correction.

Here, when the information used for calculating the target position arematched with each other in the camera body 2 and the interchangeablelens 3, for example, by matching the detection results of the blurringstate to change a frequency band to be subjected to blurring correctionand a movable range of the blurring correction movable unit, theblurring correction effect can be further enhanced. Furthermore, sincethe blurring state is transmitted from the interchangeable lens 3 to thecamera body 2 in the hotline communication, a time during which theblurring states of the interchangeable lens 3 and the camera body 2 donot match each other can be reduced. If the blurring state istransmitted from the interchangeable lens 3 to the camera body 2 only inthe command data communication without being transmitted in the hotlinecommunication, recognition of the detection result of the lens-sideblurring state by the camera body 2 would be delayed in time. As aresult, a time during which the detection results of the interchangeablelens 3 and the camera body 2 deviate from each other would be large.This causes the user to feel a reduction in comfort of use (discomfort)of a finder image and a through image at the time of blurringcorrection. However, the present embodiment is able to reduce a timeduring which the detection results of the interchangeable lens 3 and thecamera body 2 deviate from each other.

The lens-side second communication section 340 b can also periodicallytransmit the hotline data 90 at a cycle shorter than that of receivingan instruction from the camera body 2 in the command data communication.This allows information used for the blurring correction control to beimmediately transmitted, regardless of timing and time period of thecommand data communication.

The blurring sensor 390 can also periodically output the detectionsignal at a cycle shorter than that in the hotline communication. Thiscan enhance the immediacy of the hotline data 90 because it is notnecessary to consider a deviation between the timing of outputting thehotline data 90 and the timing of outputting the detection signal of theblurring sensor 390.

The interchangeable lens 3 can also transmit the reliability ofnumerical values (effectiveness of positional information, effectivenessof lens-side blurring state) included in the hotline data 90. Thus, theinterchangeable lens 3 can transmit the numerical values and theircorresponding reliability to the camera body 2 in one hotlinecommunication so that the camera body 2 can take actions depending onthe reliability.

The interchangeable lens 3 periodically transmits the hotline data 90having a fixed length to the camera body 2 so that, unlike the case oftransmitting variable-length data, transmission can be repeated at afixed period.

The present invention is not limited to the contents described above.Other embodiments contemplated within the scope of the technical idea ofthe present invention are also included within the scope of the presentinvention.

(Modification 1)

In the above description, an example of using the DMA function in thehotline communication has been described. Instead of using the DMAfunction, software may be interposed to generate the hotline data 90. InModification 1, transmission of the HDATA signal is performed by thelens-side second communication section 340 b, and generation of thehotline data 90 is performed by the lens-side control unit 330. Withthis configuration, the hotline communication and the generation of thehotline data 90 can be performed in parallel without using the DMAfunction. However, the generation of the hotline data 90 is performedwithin a time period that does not exceed one cycle of the hotlinecommunication.

(Modification 2)

In the above description, an example in which the body-side control unit230 is divided into the body-side first control section 230 a and thebody-side second control section 230 b has been described. However, thebody-side control unit 230 may be configured as one functional unit,without dividing the body-side first control section 230 a and thebody-side second control section 230 b. In this case, the body-sidecontrol unit 230 may directly control the sensor drive unit 265, and acommunication line by the body-side second communication section 240 bmay be connected to only the one single body-side control unit 230.

Further, in the example of the hotline communication of FIG. 4, a datatransfer direction of a clock synchronous communication using only twosignal lines, that is, the HCLK signal line and the HDATA signal line,is one direction from the interchangeable lens 3 to the camera body 2.However, one more signal line may be added to enable bidirectional datatransfer. Alternatively, data communication may be performedbidirectionally by configuring input and output of the HDATA signal lineto be switchable.

The hotline communication is not limited to clock synchronouscommunication. UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmittercommunication) may be used. Further, in addition to the clock signalline and the data signal line, a handshake signal line or a CS (chipselect) signal line is added to synchronize the communication starttimings between the lens-side control unit 330, and the body-side firstcontrol section 230 a and the body-side second control section 230 b.

(Modification 3)

In the camera body 2, the sensor drive unit 265 that drives the imagingsensor 260 in a direction intersecting the optical axis O may beomitted, and blurring correction for moving the position of the imagemay be performed by image processing performed by the signal processingunit 270. Alternatively, in the camera body 2, a blurring correction bythe sensor drive unit 265 and a blurring correction by the signalprocessing unit 270 may be performed together.

(Modification 4)

The interchangeable lens 3 and the camera body 2 may share a blurringcorrection depending on blurring components. For example, theinterchangeable lens 3 shares angular blurring for the X-axis and theY-axis and translational blurring for the X-axis and the Y-axis, and thecamera body 2 shares blurring (roll component) about the optical axis O.

(Modification 5)

The lens-side blurring state and the lens-side antivibration mode aretransmitted to the camera body 2 in the hotline communication, but maybe transmitted in the command data communication. In such a case, theformat of transmission in the hotline data communication may bedifferent from the format of transmission in the command datacommunication.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   1: camera system-   2: camera body-   3: interchangeable lens-   230: body-side control unit-   230 a: body-side first control section-   230 b: body-side second control section-   235: storage section-   240: body-side communication unit-   240 a: body-side first communication section-   240 b: body-side second communication section-   250: power supply unit-   260: imaging sensor-   260S: imaging surface-   265: sensor drive unit-   270: signal processing unit-   280: operation member-   285: display unit-   290: sensor-   290 a: angular velocity sensor-   290 b: acceleration sensor-   309: sensor-   330: lens-side control unit-   331: filter unit-   332: first change unit-   333: second change unit-   334: integration unit-   335: first judgement unit-   336: second judgement unit-   337: third judgement unit-   340: lens-side communication unit-   340 a: lens-side first communication section-   340 b: lens-side second communication section-   350: lens-side storage unit-   360: imaging optical system-   361 a: focusing lens-   361 b: correction lens-   370: lens drive unit-   370 a: lens drive unit-   370 b: lens drive unit-   375: instruction unit-   390: sensor-   390 a: angular velocity sensor-   390 b: acceleration sensor-   401: clock signal-   402: command packet-   404: first control process-   405: signal-   406: data packet-   407: data packet-   408: second control process-   502: signal-   503: signal

1-15. (canceled)
 16. A camera body to which a camera accessoryconfigured to form an object image is detachably mounted, comprising: adetermination unit that determines, when correcting blurring with thecamera accessory and the camera body, a sharing ratio which is a ratioof a blurring correction of the camera accessory and a ratio of ablurring correction of the camera body; and a transmission unit thattransmits information in relation to the sharing ratio determined to thecamera accessory.
 17. The camera body according to claim 16 wherein theinformation in relation to the sharing ratio indicates the ratio of theblurring correction of the camera accessory.
 18. The camera bodyaccording to claim 16, comprising: an imaging unit that captures theobject image; and a drive unit that can drive the imaging unit in adirection intersecting an optical axis of the camera accessory accordingto the sharing ratio.
 19. The camera body according to claim 16,comprising an imaging unit that captures the object image, wherein thedetermination unit determines the sharing ratio based on whether theimaging unit performs moving image photographing or still imagephotographing.
 20. The camera body according to claim 16, comprising animaging unit that captures the object image, wherein the determinationunit determines the sharing ratio based on a shutter speed of theimaging unit.
 21. The camera body according to claim 16, wherein thesharing ratio indicates at least one of a first sharing ratio forcorrecting an angular blurring and a second sharing ratio for correctinga translational blurring in the blurring.
 22. The camera body accordingto claim 16, wherein the transmission unit includes a firstcommunication unit that performs a two-way data transmission andreception with the camera accessory, and a second communication unitthat performs a one-way data transmission and reception from the cameraaccessory, and the first communication unit transmits the sharing ratioto the camera accessory.
 23. The camera body according to claim 16,comprising: a detection unit that detects blurring of the camera bodyand outputs a detection signal; and a blurring correction control unitthat performs control of correcting the blurring based on the detectionsignal and the sharing ratio.
 24. A camera accessory that is detachablymounted to a camera body and forms an object image, comprising: acorrection optical system that can move in a direction intersecting anoptical axis of the camera accessory; a receiving unit that receives,when correcting blurring with the camera accessory and the camera body,information in relation to a sharing ratio which is a ratio of ablurring correction of the camera accessory and a ratio of a blurringcorrection of the camera body, from the camera body; and a control unitthat controls the correction optical system based on the sharing ratio.25. The camera accessory according to claim 24, comprising a detectionunit that detects blurring of the camera accessory and outputs adetection signal, wherein the control unit controls the correctionoptical system based on the detection signal and the sharing ratio. 26.The camera accessory according to claim 24, wherein the control unitdetermines a ratio of the blurring correction performed by the cameraaccessory between the camera accessory and the camera body, based on thesharing ratio.
 27. The camera accessory according to claim 25, whereinthe control unit determines a ratio of the blurring correction performedby the camera accessory between the camera accessory and the camerabody, based on the sharing ratio, and corrects the detection signalaccording to the ratio of the blurring correction thus determined, tothereby calculate a drive amount of the correction optical system.
 28. Amethod of transmitting information between a camera accessory detachablymounted to a camera body and the camera body, the method comprising:transmitting information in relation to a sharing ratio of a blurringcorrection of the camera body and a blurring correction of the cameraaccessory when correcting blurring with the camera body and the cameraaccessory mounted to the camera body, between the camera body and thecamera accessory.